Crescent
by ShadowJolteon
Summary: An absol and a murkrow; friends through everything. Oneshot for now, may turn into story depending on feedback.


Oneshot for now, may turn into a story later, depending on feedback.

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Crescent

I sat up and stretched, yawning. Looking lazily around my forest home, I noticed it was mid-morning. Sheesh. Overslept, again. I got up from where I had been laying between a couple big tree roots and headed out into the tall grass to try and find breakfast. It came all the way up to my chin and I constantly had to blow it out of my face.

It was that really stringy type of grass that always seemed to make humans sneeze. I inhaled deeply before weaving through the grass in another direction, following the scent of prey. I think the humans called it ragweed. During the summer, it grew some flowers, but that's the only good thing about it. It never seemed to affect me, but a few years living in the stuff will probably do that to you.

I froze at the sound of scuffling ahead of me. I crouched down and slowly padded forward. A swathe of grass parted slightly as I touched it with one paw, allowing me to see farther out. A Rattata sat with its back to me, nibbling on a seed, oblivious to the danger it was in. I tensed, ready to spring on the mouse, when a tiny -crack!- from the trees above drew my attention and made me stop. I looked up in time to get a faceful of pinecone.

"Gah!" I said, stumbling away from it. It hit my eye!

A sudden scurrying told me my breakfast was running away. A raucous laughing from above made me look up again to see a black-feathered bird gliding down towards me.

"You gotta be faster, Cres!" she called down, using my hated nickname.  
"It's about stealth, not speed, Raven!" I growled back up at her.

Still laughing, she flared up her wings in a sharp brake and landed lightly on my horn, slightly rocking back and forth as I walked. Ugh. I hated it when she hitched a ride. Of course, I'd never say no, but she could at least ask first.

"So where to now, Cressie?" she asked, flipping upside down and pecking me.

"Augh! Stop it!" I said, shaking my head in a feeble attempt to dislodge her. No such luck. "Well, now, I'm gonna try to find breakfast again, unless you decide to scare _that_ away too."

"Aww!" she crowed sarcastically. "No confidence in me, Crescent? That really hurts, you know." Then she flipped back up and started laughing hysterically. I swear, I have no idea why I stick with that Murkrow.

"Hello, Crescent," said a voice suddenly, making me stop dead in my tracks. I slowly turned around, dreading what I would see. And... Yup. It was him.

"Hello, Shadow," I said wearily to the massive Houndoom that had literally stepped straight out of the shadows. He was about a foot taller than me at the shoulder, with a lot more mass. Not fat-wise. I mean muscle-wise. He was the son of his pack's leader, and incredibly full of himself.

"So, Crescent, what's a miserable Absol like you doing in _this_ territory?" he sneered, implying that it was his. It wasn't. Not yet. And besides, those stupid territory laws only work for pack and herd Pokemon. I was neither.

"Out hunting," I said, not rising to the bait.  
"On _this_ territory?"  
"Yes."

Amazingly, Raven had kept quiet throughout the entire thing. Until Shadow noticed her.

"So I see you still hang out with bird-brain there," he said smugly.

Before I could say anything, Raven spoke up. "Why, thank you!" she said charmingly. _Never_ fall for that trick. "I know it can't be hard for you, saying that, as we birds_ are_ so much brighter than the others."

"What are you implying, bird?" Shadow asked, practically hissing. Huh. I thought only cats could hiss. Guess I was wrong.

"I'm not implying anything," Raven said calmly, and I thought I had a chance to live a bit longer. "I'm flat-out _saying_ that you're stupid, Droolly."  
Well, there go my hopes, flying away.

"What did you say?" Shadow asked, growling every word. I looked at him and saw his teeth were bared and his shoulders were hunched, ready to pounce. Uh-oh.  
_We should probably leave now,_ I thought, inching away from Shadow and getting ready to bolt.

"Uh, Raven, we should probably-"  
"I SAID YOU'RE STUPID!" Raven practically screamed, leaning forward towards Shadow on her perch.

With a growl that turned into a roar, he leapt forward at us. I backpedaled frantically on the fallen leaves before finally shooting off through the forest, Shadow hot on my heels.

Raven jumped off and flew alongside me, still throwing insults back at the enraged hellhound chasing us.

"Dogbreath! Tickfur! Fleascratcher!"  
Well, it certainly didn't calm him down.

Suddenly, I felt something catch my paw, and I stumbled, falling. I twisted around, trying to get back up, but I froze. Eyes locked on the quickly approaching Houndoom, I heard Raven's wings flapping next to me.

"Get up, Crescent!" she screeched, pulling on my thick white fur with her beak. "Get up!"

But I couldn't. All I could do was watch in horror Shadow's paws pounded closer and closer, seemingly in slow motion with eyes dark and fangs bared. I saw him tense to leap, saw his feet leave the ground, saw him sailing through the air towards me, teeth and claws aimed for my throat.

Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a battle cry screech, as a flurry of dark feathers shot over my head and crashed into Shadow's face, sending him toppling over in midair. I saw some furious flapping at his face, and several pained yelps later, he was running off through the trees with his tail tucked between his legs.

Breathing heavily, Raven hopped over to where I still lay. I looked down at her in shock and saw that her beak and talons were red with blood – Shadow's blood.

"You _idiot!"_ she said suddenly, jolting me out of my thoughts. "Why didn't you get up? We could've gotten away, even with you tripping!"

I opened and closed my mouth, unable to form a coherent answer.

"Well, quit gaping like a fish, Cres," Raven said, twisting her head and turning her gaze onto the path Shadow had left by. "I'd say we have an hour, maybe two, tops, before the rest of them get here."

"Bu-but what did you _do?"_ I asked, stuttering a little.

She shuffled from foot to foot nervously when I looked at her.  
"I _might possibly_ have _maybe_ scratched out one of his eyes…" she finished quietly.

"You did _what_?" I asked, unbelieving.

"I saved your ungrateful hide!" she said with a sharp glare at me, suddenly angry.

"Now get up and start walking!" she finished with a huff, flapping her wings and jumping back on my horn as I rose.

As we walked, I couldn't help but remember. When she'd flown at Shadow, I'd heard her. She'd been mad. As in, _really_ mad. And Raven almost never got mad for real. I'd only seen her that upset once before in my life.

So I wondered, why had she been that upset? I would've survived Shadow's attack. Probably. Maybe. Might. Fine, I had no chance at all of surviving. But still.

Huh. Maybe that was the reason I stuck with her.

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So! Should it stay a oneshot, or develop into a story? Review and tell me what you think.

Or Raven will pelt you with pinecones.


End file.
